by Steve Dew-Jones | 28 Jul 2021 | News
Christian convert Hamed Ashouri has begun his 10-month prison sentence for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic”. The 31-year-old submitted himself to Karaj’s Central Prison yesterday. Before doing so, he recorded a short video, in which he explained that he had...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 23 Jul 2021 | News
Left to right: Alireza Varak-Shah, Hojjat Lotfi Khalaf, Mohammad Ali (Davoud) Torabi, and Esmaeil Narimanpour. (MEC) Eight Christian converts in the southwestern city of Dezful have been summoned to answer charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran”....
by Steve Dew-Jones | 16 Jul 2021 | Analysis
Embed from Getty Images An Iranian human rights lawyer says the latest move by the judiciary to stifle the independence of lawyers shows the presence of “even a small number of human rights defenders is intolerable for the judiciary”. Hossein Ahmadiniaz, who now lives...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 14 Jul 2021 | News
A photo of the front of the house during the bishop’s time there, courtesy of the Dehqani-Tafti family. The former house of Iran’s first ethnic Persian Anglican bishop is to be turned into a museum, according to the state-funded Mehr News Agency. As...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 13 Jul 2021 | Analysis
Photo: IranWire An Iranian-Assyrian Christian claims he was denied a promotion and received much less compensation than he was entitled to after an injury at work – only because he is a Christian. “Farough” told IranWire that after losing three fingers due to a...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 6 Jul 2021 | Analysis
“We do not encourage people to change their religion,” says Iranian-Armenian Catholic archbishop Sarkis Davidian in a video published yesterday by Roshangar Media. The Iranian state propaganda machine continues to use the country’s recognised Christian minority groups...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 5 Jul 2021 | Analysis
Photo: alef.ir The appointment of another infamous hardliner as the new head of Iran’s judiciary, replacing president-elect Ebrahim Raisi, is being seen as another step towards an even more repressive Islamic Republic. Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, who was Raisi’s...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 2 Jul 2021 | News
Embed from Getty Images Iran’s parliament has passed the first draft of a bill that champions the death penalty for anyone convicted of “spying” for or “cooperating” with “hostile states” – “especially the United States”. The bill, which was passed on 8 June,...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 29 Jun 2021 | News
Christian prisoner of conscience Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh has been told his request for conditional release has been rejected. The news comes as a bitter blow to the Christian convert, who turns 60 in August, having been regularly assured by prison authorities in...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 29 Jun 2021 | News
Fr Andrzej Józwowicz (Twitter @ChurchInPoland) The Vatican has appointed Polish archbishop Andrzej Józwowicz as its new ambassador to Iran. The 56-year-old, who previously served in a lower-level diplomatic role in Iran from 2009-12, was appointed by Pope Francis...
